Yangling agro-expo concludes with 1,600 new outcome releases

The 33rd China Yangling Agricultural Hi-tech Fair concluded in northwest China's Shaanxi Province on Thursday, with the total release of over 1,600 new strains, technologies, products, and models to boost farming efficiency and farmers' incomes.

Under the theme of "A New Future of Agriculture with New Quality Productive Forces," the five-day fair featured nine exhibition zones highlighting agricultural high-tech achievements, international agricultural cooperation, Shaanxi's modern agriculture and promotion of practical agricultural technologies.

One of the standout new achievements unveiled was a fruit-picking robot. Equipped with an interchangeable picker, the machine can harvest a variety of fruits, including grapes and kiwifruit, saving a lot of labor costs.

"We simply press the operation button, and the machine automatically identifies, locates, and picks [fruits]. It can pick grapes at a rate of 1,600 bunches per hour and kiwifruit at a rate of 1,400 units per hour. With auxiliary lights in the front, it can also operate at night," said Liu Qingbin, an exhibitor at the fair.

Another major release was a new kiwifruit seedling strain named Kangzhen No.1. Developed by the Ankang Academy of Agricultural Sciences from wild kiwifruit stock, the strain offers improved disease resistance, higher yields and better fruit quality.

"It features a well-developed root system and grows vary fast. It also has a strong capacity for regeneration and self-healing in case of adverse weather," said Zhang Wenhui, director of the Fruit and Vegetable Research Institute of Ankang Academy of Agricultural Sciences.

A separate new kiwifruit strain from the same academy also drew strong interest from visitors for its distinctive multi-fruit flavor, combining notes of mango, pineapple and apple.

"It's incredibly soft and tastes very sweet. Its flavor is a bit like that of a mango," said a visitor at the fair.

During this year's fair, a total of 51 outcome release events were held to present over 1,600 agricultural sci-tech achievements. Investment projects signed at the event totaled 32.93 billion yuan (about 4.94 billion U.S. dollars), while on-site transactions reached 295 million yuan (about 44.29 million U.S. dollars).

Hundreds of paddleboarders made a splash as they raced along a river in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality for the latest round of the 2026 China National Stand-up Paddle Boarding (SUP) U Series.

The two-day gathering was held in Chongqing's suburban Qijiang District from Oct. 24-25 and welcomed around 800 athletes to compete in a host of events.

This marked the third year in a row that Qijiang has hosted a leg of the flagship water sports event, with this year's edition also seeing kayaking and open water swimming added for the first time.

The demanding program of events saw the staging of 200-meter kayak sprints and 1,500-meter open water races, while the different age grades spanned youth categories from under-9s to under-18s, as well as open and masters' groups for more seasoned participants.